In the context of video games, "Uncle" is a term for an
individual who finds and releases previously unknown information about a video game through datamining and other sources. Commonly found in the sphere of gacha games, Uncles are valuable members of the community who release information to players prior to official announcements.
The rise of Uncles follows the rise in predatory practices in
Free-To-Play games with optional purchases; as companies began to hold back information as much as possible to encourage spending, players had
trouble managing their in-game resources due the surprising nature of content releases in these games and frequently turned to spending out-of budget for
fear of missing
something.
The use of "Uncle" is not meant as a gendered term, as Uncles typically keep their identities private due to the sensitive and sometimes controversial nature of their work.